People familiar with yard work have devised devices for over 100 years to assist in filling a flexible bag with leaves and other debris. U.S. Pat. No. 571,513 discloses an early version of a stand to assist in filling a bag with lawn debris. UK Patent 737747 discloses a complex device to assist in filling a bag with debris. Publication GB2052935 discloses yet another device for bagging waste matter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,627 discloses a device which resembles a modified trash can for receiving the trash bag within the can. U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,440 discloses a rim for supporting a bag. U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,599 discloses a device intended to serve as a scoop for raking leaves into a trashcan. U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,233 discloses another device intended to act as a funnel to receive and direct leaves into the bag. In one embodiment, a device is provided with legs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,274 discloses a complex device for assisting in filling a trash bag with debris. FIG. 5 discloses an embodiment wherein the device is intended to be supported on a wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,666 discloses another device which performs a funnel function for raking leaves into a bag. U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,045 discloses a funnel device which has a generally D-shaped configuration. Still other embodiments disclosing similar devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,031,948, 5,498,046, 5,395,147, 5,593,117 and 5,785,369. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,655,739 and 6,378,577 disclose modifications to the idea of a scoop-type device for assisting in collecting leaves in a bag. U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,588 discloses a modified trash can designed to be laid down on its side to rake leaves into the bag. U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,973 discloses a funnel-type device which is fairly complex.
Other devices have been devised which seek to support a trash bag in a substantially vertical position to fill the bag with leaves. U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,853 discloses a mechanism for supporting a bag, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,518 discloses a receptacle for receiving legs of a throat member. U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,419 discloses a complex device for supporting a bag in a substantially vertical position, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,815 discloses a bracing assembly for supporting a bag. U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,461 discloses an alternative device for supporting a bag.
The disadvantages of the prior art involve the complexity and thus the cost of manufacturing the devices. Also, most devices cannot practically be used to either fill a bag in a lateral position, or support the bag for dumping debris into the top of the bag.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved support for a trash bag is hereinafter disclosed.